


A Light In The Darkness

by iavenjqasdf



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F, Light Angst, Love Confessions, like feather light, takes place right after Future Past 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 06:52:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9645176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iavenjqasdf/pseuds/iavenjqasdf
Summary: Kjelle and Noire talk it out after a near-death experience.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WET_NOODLES](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WET_NOODLES/gifts).



> So, in an interesting reversal of roles, Natalie gave ME a Kjelle/Noire idea that I ended up taking (a little bit) further than expected

The soft rustle against the fabric of her tent caused Noire to jump. “Wh-who is it?” she yelped, scrambling out of her bedroll to grab her bow.

“It’s just me, Noire.”

Noire released the breath she didn’t realize she’d taken. She could recognize Kjelle’s voice anywhere.

“Oh, please come in, then!” she shouted back, setting her weapon back down.

Kjelle parted the tent flaps, letting herself in with a nod, returning the archer’s meek smile with a small one of her own. “It was a rather… eventful day. How’re you holding up?”

“Still a little shaken up, b-but I think I’ll be fine,” Noire’s voice trembled slightly as she sat cross-legged on her bedroll. “I’m just glad everyone’s safe.”

“So am I,” Kjelle admitted, weariness evident in her tone. She sat down a respectable distance away from Noire. “But we’re still in one piece, and we got the gems, and that’s what matters, right?”

“Right! So everything will be okay now!” Noire’s forced attempt at a smile didn’t fool either of them.

“Sure…” Kjelle sighed as she flopped back, staring at the ceiling. Pale moonlight filtered through the ragged canvas, dappling the inside of the tent with tiny spots of light.

Noire’s gaze flickered around her surroundings as she anxiously rapped her knuckles together. It wasn’t like Kjelle to drop by so suddenly, or stay for so long. Her visits tended to last exactly as long as it took to relay a point, and not a second longer, so seeing the knight kicking back in no apparent hurry was an unusual sight indeed. Then again, Noire supposed, they’d earned it after the day they’d gone through.

She cleared her throat. “Is there anything else you wanted, Kjelle?”

Kjelle was quiet for a moment, before replying. “There was, actually…” She took a breath, held it for a moment, then released it again. “Um…”

Now _this_ was really unusual; stern, serious Kjelle, at a loss for words? Noire’s stomach sank; she’d looked up to Kjelle in trying times as a model of strength and perseverance, so whatever was coming next couldn’t have been good if it made even _her_ hesitate.

“So… when we were cornered, earlier…” Kjelle began, gaze still fixed upon the ceiling. “I, uh- well, I couldn’t help but think,”

“Yes?” Noire scooted a bit closer, not wanting to risk missing a detail and having to ask Kjelle to repeat herself.

“I remember, when that axe wielder was coming at me, and I was certain I would die- I mean, it’s funny,” she swallowed, trying to keep her tone even. “I wasn’t thinking about our mission in my final moments, or my parents, or even myself. All I could think about was… you.”

Noire seized at those words, knuckles clenching until her nails dug into her palm. “Oh, I should’ve known! This is all my fault, I’m so sorry, Kjelle! If I hadn’t been so focused on defending Cynthia, I would’ve noticed him-“

Kjelle shook her head, a simple gesture that nonetheless shocked Noire back into silence. “No, Noire. I wasn’t thinking about how you could’ve saved me- my mother took care of that in time-,” she gestured vaguely with her hands, before sighing and crossing them back across her stomach. “I was just thinking about- how I’d never tell you how I felt.”

Tears pricked at Noire’s eyes. “You… could tell me now,” she squeaked, trying in vain to brace herself. She’d been an idiot, and her idiocy almost led to her best friend getting killed. She deserved whatever tongue-lashing she was about to receive.

“I… I love you, Noire.”

Noire’s breath hitched, feeling as though her feet had gone out from under her, despite the fact that they remained folded very much in place beneath her. “I-I’m sorry?” Surely she’d misheard.

Kjelle rolled to her side, facing Noire. “Don’t be,” she murmured, heart clenching as she watched tears begin to silently trickle down the archer’s cheeks.

“No, I just… I don’t think I heard you right,” Noire sniffled, grabbing her nearest shirt to wipe away her tears before Kjelle had a chance to see.

“I said I love you, Noire.”

That was the proverbial last straw. Noire tried to say something, but her voice cracked as she sobbed into her shirt. Gods, what was Kjelle even saying? Was this some kind of dream? And if not, what kind of impression was crying going to leave on the girl she’d privately yearned for as far back as her memory went?

Noire felt the bedroll shift under her, and an arm carefully laid across her shoulders. “K-Kjelle-“ she choked between sobs.

“Yeah, I mean it,” the knight murmured, pulling Noire a bit closer in an attempt at comforting the girl. “And I’ll say it as many times as it takes.”

Another arm wound its way around Noire’s back, and she let herself be pulled into an awkward kind of half-embrace. Her head rested against the long-faded fabric of Kjelle’s nightshirt, the steady rise and fall helping ground her somewhat as the tears slowly ebbed and dried away.

A seeming eternity passed without a word, the distant chirping of crickets and soft howl of the wind the only company for the girls.

“You okay?” Kjelle whispered at length. Noire nodded briskly, face still hidden in the damp fabric.

“I- I don’t…” she managed, voice wobbly and unsteady. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Neither do I,” Kjelle admitted with a small smirk.

“But you already did!” Noire peeked up at last, meeting Kjelle’s gaze for a split second before she couldn’t look at it any more without worrying her heart would explode. “You already said, that you loved me.”

“Then just say that.”

“I love you too,” Noire stated before she could psych herself back out of it. The knight had laid her feelings bare for her; the least she could do was return the favor. “I- I don’t know how or why but, I love you, Kjelle. And hearing that you… you…” Tears threatened to spill forth once more as the full gravity of the situation sank in. The love of her life _loved her back_.

“We’re heading out to Ylisstol at dawn,” Kjelle stated. “Get some rest, we’ll have plenty of time to discuss this during the march.”

Noire nodded; that made sense. She’d probably need the whole day to process all the emotions she’d experienced over the last 24 hours, if not more. She reluctantly withdrew from the embrace, unable to help the grin that spread across her lips as she managed another peek at Kjelle.

“Well, good night, then,” she smiled. “U-unless, you’d like to stay?”

“I’d like that,” Kjelle responded, and Noire’s chest felt like it would overflow with warmth.


End file.
